At Rainy Day Reviews you will find
my personal reviews on books as well as reading challenges, weekly memes I participate in, and all other bookish topics.
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Saturday, March 31, 2012

Joe K. shows what beauty there is in loss and what victory there is in surrender. Through his personal experiences Joe shares a peaceful message of faith, hope, and recovery in the twelve steps. From his idyllic childhood in the ranching and mining towns of the Pacific North West, Joe's life takes him to the glittering nightclubs of the 1960's where his career as a performer brought his great success, and where his very personal journey began. From gutters and flophouses of San Francisco to the luxury resorts of South America, Africa, Europe and Asia, Joe shares his exciting journey to spiritual and personal awakening and finding self-acceptance and love. Today Joe is retired and makes his home in Boise, Idaho where he spends his time with his 2 dogs, large family, and many wonderful friends.

I love memoirs. I always have. Especially after I read The Diary of Anne Frank in elementry school. I have heard from friends and family and other bloggers about memoirs and books based on true stories/events; some of them were great and I hated getting to the last page, others seemed to drag on and on. The memoir sorta fell in the second category for me. His stories would differ from funny, sad, scary and uh...huh...moments. I thought I would get to the point of his memoir about halfway through his stories. I was hoping so. But- about halfway through I stopped reading for a moment and looked at the book and thought, what is the point of this memoir? Is there a reason for it? Most people, when they write their memoirs, they tell stories of their life but there is also a point to it. The big lesson they learned, the deamon they conquered. I felt in his book, that part was missing, or at least fell flat. I did get a message of faith and loss but it didn't seem to be the focal point of his message. I'm not sure what the focal point was. I did get moments of inspiration as he was figuring out who he was sexually and as a person as well fighting through alcohol addiction and mental disorders. I would read another of his books and give him another chance; I just didn't feel it with is memoir and I am sorry to feel and say that since I do enjoy memoirs; especially since I read another review of this book over at Minding Spot, the book seems real good.
On the same token, as I do with all books that I don't feel so great about first hand, I will come back to it and read it again.

Please read other people's reviews and thoughts on this book as well. I don't feel the greatest about this book but you never know....
I can't say I do recommend this book, but I would say to still give the book a chance because as I said before, you never know.

“Frost. Call on line one.” The voice boomed overhead and interrupted Scott Frost mid-climb. He jumped off his truck, pushed up the sleeves on his dingy green work shirt and walked to the phone mounted on the wall, his face a scowl of irritation.

He grabbed the receiver. “Hello.”

“They found Patience,” his wife, Andrea, whispered.

Mammoth garbage trucks rumbled and shook the walls as they rolled out into the street for the day’s work, their giant bellies hungry for trash. Scott strained to hear his wife over the noise.

“I told you never to call me here.”

“Do you know what they did to her?” Her voice rose an octave.

"Hold it together.” He clenched his fist and resisted the impulse to smash it through the wall. “She’s the one who ran off.”

“She didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that.”

The phone slipped a bit in his sweaty hand. Tolerance had never been one of Scott's virtues, and what little he did have waned with each whiny word his wife uttered. “It’ll all be over soon, you know that.”

“They won’t let us out.”

He gnashed his teeth together until the noise in his head drowned out the roar of garbage trucks. The pumping of his heart escalated and Scott imagined he could feel his blood pressure rising.

“Damn it, Andrea, take a valium. These people are dangerous. They’ll kill us if we flake out.”

Title: Life in Death (Kari Marchant Series, Book 1)Author:Harlow CobanPublisher:Wine Not PublishingLength:25,000 wordsSub-Genre:Mystery/Thriller

BLURB:

When a girl that social worker Kari Marchant places in foster care is brutally murdered, she’s compelled to learn why. Her quest for the truth pits her against friends and coworkers. As Kari works to solve the horrific plot, more people die. How far should she go to learn the truth—even if it threatens her life?

When homicide detective Rance Nicolet meets Kari, his attraction to her is powerful—and the feeling is mutual. But things between them go terribly wrong when Kari’s old lover is found murdered with a letter from her in his pocket. The evidence against Kari is damning. Rance’s personal and professional lives collide. Does he blindly believe the woman he’s falling in love with or follow the evidence no matter where it leads?

Let me start off by saying I didn't like the cover. It didn't do the story justice. The story was well written with well developed charachter. Harlow Coban keeps you thinking on your toes wondering what in the world is going on. What may be a small mistake by a coworker may have hindered the chances of survival for the troubled Patience Dolo; a foster child who is supposed to be cared for by Andrea and Scott Frost. When the two detectives show up and tell Andrea that Patience has been found dead, she isn't reacting or taken by the news as typical parents are. In fact, she is appearing to be putting on an entire act for the two detectives. What I found odd is the fact that Andrea didn't ask questions about Patience or if she could go see her...nothing. She seemed on the defensive. Ansty. Nervous.

And even though I feel bad for April, I don't care for her. She is loose, doesn't dress appropriately for her job, or any job for that matter. She is nosy and rude. She seems to try too hard to be the IT girl.

There were parts of this book that were a little challenging for me to read; only because I don't do the blood and gore. Though I still have a hard time watching Jurrasic Park. Yes, I can be that sensetive; not by choice. Harlow Coban had great detail and it wasn't over done; I personally just didn't like it when it came to Saura and Edvard (their alto egos) and their long time ago ceremony, I had a twinge of oh yuck. But probably for most everyone else, this wont be a huge issue, espeically if you watch any of those crime shows.

I liked Kari Marchant, Pateience's social worker. She is someone I could see myself being friends with. Having a great cup of coffee and great conversation. I felt bad for her though, not only because she had to turn in her friend/coworker because she forgot to give her the note about Pateince running away, but because she was with a man who had incriminating evidence on his computer and she threw him out because of it. He threatened that if she told that she would "regret it". She found out he was running for office and sent him a letter; but then he is missing then found dead with her letter on him. Making her look very guilty.

I really enjoyed the fact that even though this story had a few underlying stories, they akk tied into one and it wasn't hard to follow. I also enjoyed the fact that even though this story is only about 60 pages long, Coban doesn't race through it. She kept good suspense, making you read on to find out what is going to happen next.

I have been luckjy enough be read yet another good book by a really good writer. Again, I can honestly say I do look forward to her next book. I do recommend this book; but I also advise parental discression, becasue there is a little colorful language and some adult content.

As I stated in my title, there is a giveaway! The winner will recieve a copy of this great read in e-format. Fpr a chance to win this book, leave a comment here telling me you want to enter. That's easy, right? And for an extra point each, follow my blog as well as on twitter. Let me know in your comment that you are a new follower of mine on twitter and/or here and if you already are following me then let me know:) Good luck all and happy reading!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

In this past year (not starting at 2012, I mean in the past 12 months) I have read some really good books, some not so great, and a couple that have been really hard to put down. The kind where I need to get all errands and house work done before hand becasue once I pick it up it is near impossible to put down.

This was one of those books.

This sucks you in right from the start. Part of the pull of this book was that you just had to know what was going to happen next. Especially with a character like Beatrice. Do not like her. At least in the beginning. She seems to always be up to no good. A tiger in sheeps clothing type. Thinks and talks as though all kids/teenagers are up to no good, etc. She has it out for the Peach kids, especially after their father dies.

From the beginning your pulling for the five kids and your heart goes out to them. you feel yourself rooting for them and being parental and protective over the kids when someone is starting to stir the pot and causing issues especially where none is needed.

Wasn't a huge fan of Aunt Vera either. Trying to get the older kids to take a shot in their fathers name when he died of drinking too much then getting mad at the oldest girl, Joanie for disagreeing with it and being told she was out of line and rude to her elder. I loved the kids, They had to grow up beyond their years, especially Teddy and Joanie; practically overnight. Though I felt they did very good and handled themselves quite well. They have to deal with a lot of loss in a short time, take on adult responsibilities; including paying all the back bills their their father left behind, deal with everyone saying how great their 'Pops' otherwise known as Yimey was when they knew him to be great up until their mother died (he went into a downward spiral, started drink A LOT). Then it was a man who worked and went to the bar.

You 'hear' these kids' thoughts about their father and your heart goes out to them and their father. He went into depression after his wife died. But that in itself was a death to their kids because they hardly saw their father and and when they did he was either drunk or passed out. But they did have fond memories.

Anyway, I am beginning to ramble and get off track.

I loved the kids, the Priest, Sarah, Teddy's girlfriend and 'Scratch' Joanie's boyfriend. Was not a huge fan of Aunt Vera, as I said before; spoiled, rude and cold. Loved the tight knit family theme of the book. Having each others back, looking out for each other, kindness, love, compassion, bravery and faith. That would sum up the theme of this book and I loved it. And I look forward to the sequel.

I highly recommend this book. You won't be sorry, Larry is a gifted writer who creates a smart, witty, loving and believable characters and storyline. I am so happy I got the opportunity to read this book.

I received this book for review from Tribute Books

Larry Peterson was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. A former Metal Lather/Reinforcing Iron-worker, he left that business after coming down with MS. He, his wife and three kids moved to Florida 30 years ago. Larry began doing freelance newspaper commentary after graduating from Tampa College in 1984.

His first children's picture book, Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes was published in 2011. In 2012, his full length novel, The Priest and the Peaches was released and he is presently working on the sequel.

He also has a blog (http://www.ThePriestandthePeaches.com) where he posts weekly commentary. He lives in Pinellas Park, Florida and his kids and six grandchildren all live within three miles of each

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Pump Up Your Book and The Barrett Company are teaming up to give you a chance to win a Kindle Fire!

This giveaway is part of the Barrett Company Hollywood Publicity Tour hosted by Pump Up Your Book. There are a lot of great blogs participating in this Kindle Fire giveaway.After you enter, check out the other stops on the Barrett Company Hollywood Publicity Tour and enter there too!

Well known, experienced, professional Hollywood book, TV and movie publicist Charlie Barrett formed The Barrett Company in 1991 as a full service publicity and media relations agency to serve books/authors/publishers, television and motion picture industry clients. The Los Angeles headquartered publicity firm offers 21st century publicity and media relations services to celebrities, authors, actors, directors, screen writers, filmmakers as well as film and television producers.Charlie’s author clients have include LA author-screenwriter Carla Malden, author of Afterimage, Kindle’s John Locke/Lethal People, Julie Sinatra/Under my Skin, Warren Adler/War of the Roses, David R. Fett MD and Steve Langford/White Sleeper, Deby Eisenberg/Pictures of the Past, Marty Jurow/See’in Stars: A Show Biz Odyssey, actor George Kennedy/Trust Me, Peter Ford/Glenn Ford: A Life and Dr. Ken Nedd/Power Over Stress as well as many, many others.Since it’s inception, TBC has served as publicists to such companies and celebrities as CBS, Simon & Schuster, ABC, Globe Pequot Press, Harper Collins publishers, Norton publishers, Paramount studios, Oxford University Press, PBS, Warner Brothers, American Movie Classics cable channel (Mad Men), Bravo, Life Time Television, NYU Press, Ben Bella Books, Fox Television Network, Little Brown publishers, Fox News, CNN, self-published author service firms such as Xlibris, Author House and i-Universe as well as numerous celebrities from Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon to Kevin Costner, Tatum O’Neal, Tim Curry, Martin Landau, Robert Stack, Rod Stewart, Gary Conway, Oprah Winfrey (Oprah’s Big Give television series on ABC) and numerous other stars.Mr. Barrett started up The Barrett Company publicity firm after serving in top PR positions with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for more than ten years, where he was in charge of media relations for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show and Today, among other well-known NBC shows such as Unsolved Mysteries, Fame and numerous highly-rated NBC specials, including The American Film Institute Awards and The American Movie Awards.When earlier basing in New York City, Mr. Barrett served as a book publicist to many major publishers with publicity campaigns for a number of best-selling authors from large trade book publishers from Scribners to Random House.Mr. Barrett has also held executive media relations posts with 20th Century Fox Film Corporation in New York and Capitol Records in Hollywood, New York and London, where he helped launch recorded music by The Beatles, The Band and many other music artists including Joe South, Freda Payne, Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell.You can visit his website at www.thebarrettco.com. Visit them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/thebarrettco.

About The Barrett Company:

Media expert & advisor Charles Barrett formed The Barrett Company in 1991 as a full service media relations and media marketing/communications agency. The Los Angeles headquartered firm offers 21st century integrated media outreach and media marketing expertise with an emphasis on the entertainment and leisure time industries serving authors/publishers, Hollywood celebrities, motion pictures, and television. Since inception, TBC has served such companies as Simon & Schuster, Globe Pequot Press, Norton Publishers, Warner Brothers Studios, American Movie Classics cable channel, ABC TV, CBS TV, Fox Television, self-published author publishers such as Xlibris, Author House, I-Universe and numerous celebrities from Johnny Carson to Ed McMahon to Kevin Costner to Oprah Winfrey (Oprah’s Big Give television series on ABC).

The Barrett Company also assists attorneys and their clients, managing media coverage in civil and criminal cases from California to New York in both state and federal courts.Mr. Barrett formed the firm after serving in top public relations positions with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for more than ten years, where he was in charge of media relations for The Tonight Show and Today, among other well-known NBC shows such as Unsolved Mysteries, Fame and numerous highly-rated NBC specials, including The American Film Institute Awards and The American Movie Awards. Mr. Barrett has also held executive media relations posts with 20th Century Fox Film Corporation in New York and Capitol Records in Hollywood, New York and London, where he helped launch recorded music by The Beatles, The Band and many other music artists.When earlier basing in New York City, Mr. Barrett assisted major publishers with publicity campaigns for a number of New York Times best-selling authors, serving such publishers as Scribner’s, Simon & Schuster, Norton, John Wiley & Sons, Warner Books and Golden Books, among many others.The Barrett Company serves major publisher and self-published authors with Harper Collins, Little Brown, Penguin Press, i-Universe, Oxford University Press, Viking Press, Xlibris, Random House, Holm Press, Ben Bella Books, Author House, SMU Press, NYU Press, creating and performing a range of publicity services and media outreach for both fiction and non-fiction book releases.Charles Barrett began his media career as a reporter with The Associated Press in New Haven, CT and later served on the editorial staffs of both The Hollywood Reporter in Los Angeles and Billboard Publications in New York. He has also authored numerous articles for magazines and newspapers on the performing arts and travel as well as appearing as a contributor on major U.S. radio talk shows discussing celebrities, films, television and books. He was voted the Book Publicist of the Year award by the Southern California Book Pub Society recently. Charles is a member of The Publishers Association of Los Angeles, The Academy of TV Arts and Sciences (Emmy Award) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (The Oscars ®).The Barrett Company is well known and regarded among the world’s media outlets for its credibility and creativity. Through years of client assignments we have developed remarkable and successful campaigns for our wide range of authors/publishers, Hollywood creatives, companies and celebrities, which have paved the way for us to produce media, consumer and trade events of all descriptions both in the United States and overseas, from Book Expo to NATPE (the renowned annual television program executive conference) to Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, The Frankfurt Book Fair to filmdom’s Show West as well as MIP in France, The Beverly Hills Film Festival and The Cannes International Film Festival.TBC’s experience, skills and knowledge in various professional disciplines have enabled the company to offer programs we are proud of, including trade and consumer publicity campaigns, Internet publicity campaigns, crisis communications management, new company and celebrity launches, trade show media awareness, marketing communications solutions, and consultancy to in-house publicity firms in publishing, film and television. No assignment is too big or too small. TBC possesses a keen awareness of the workings of the global media – - including but not limited to print, broadcast and digital – - and has demonstrated over the years the ability to create stunning and effective media outreach models for valued clients, be they well established, or start-ups, or beginning careers as authors and celebrities.Barbara Wall, a specialist in media marketing and media research, serves as Vice President of TBC. She has accomplished extensive assignments, ranging from technology to entertainment to printing/publishing and has working relationships with a wide circle of book media contacts including reviewers at major US newspapers to Internet book reviewers including NY Times, USA TODAY, Midwest Book Review, BookPleasures.com, BookReview.com, writers at select men and women’s’ magazines and online social media bloggers covering authors and publishers. Ms. Wall formerly served as an executive in two Fortune 500 companies (Xerox, Experian) and has worked with a range of clients including BMG Music Service, The Fox Network, Eddie Bauer, Levi’s, Starbucks, and Jamba Juice. She holds both BA and MBA degrees and formerly taught high school English in Colorado.A key professional on The Barrett Company team is Vice President John Michaeli, who offers international and domestic public relations/communications expertise with a proven track record of developing, implementing and directing strategic marketing campaigns. Mr. Michaeli is a crisis communications specialist, having served many studios and networks dealing with a range of public issues in both personnel to products areas. Mr. Michaeli has held senior management posts with PR agencies and companies in the entertainment, technology, new media, network TV and public relations industries, including Walt Disney Studios, Fox Family Channel, Warner Brothers, Pax TV and Hanna-Barbera, the renowned animation studio in Hollywood where he served as VP of Marketing.Representing TBC in New York is publicist and author Ward Morehouse III, who served as media contact at NBC for NBC Nightly News and was also was a Vice President at Jack Raymond & Associates, a top New York public relations firm. Mr. Morehouse has authored several books on the world’s top hotels from The Plaza to The Waldorf Astoria and most recently released his latest book, London’s Grand Hotels. He also created and maintains the New York City web portal www.broadwayafterdark.com.TBC is proud of its association with renowned film marketing professional Jerry Pam. Mr. Pam’s accomplished film marketing career ranges from his days with The Beatles on their hit films, A Hard Day’s Night and Help, to films like Chocolat, Cinema Paridiso, Cider House Rules, the Oscar ® winner Shakespeare in Love and Good Will Hunting, among many, many other pictures. He earlier created remarkable film marketing campaigns for Apocalypse Now, Last Tango in Paris, American Graffiti, The Conversation and Midnight Express. Jerry has represented numerous screen and television personalities, including Michael Caine, Roger Moore, Jaclyn Smith and Robert Stack, in addition to well known authors such as Sidney Sheldon, Jackie Collins, Judith Krantz and Morris West. His corporate clients have ranged from Rolls Royce to Mouton Cadet Wines, and Faberge to General Mills.

Books…The Barrett Company represents author Carla Malden (who co-wrote her father Karl Malden’s biography When Do I Start?) for her forthcoming book Afterimage from Globe Pequot Press. TBC created the media marketing campaign for film producer/agent Marty Jurow (Breakfast At Tiffany’s, The Pink Panther and Terms ofEndearment) and his tales of Hollywood’s Golden Age — Marty Jurow Seein’ Stars: A Show Biz Odyssey, ahardbound work published by Southern Methodist University Press. In his book, Mr. Jurow tells riveting vignettes and stories about Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn, Marlon Brando, author Truman Capote, Katharine Hepburn, Elvis Presley and Gary Cooper, among others. Mr. Malden said about the book, “Anyone who wants to know what happened behind the scenes in theatre, film, and TV during the 30s, 40s and 50s must read this book.” Other author clients include Julie Sinatra author of Under My Skin, entrepreneur Gary Fong’s The Accidental Millionaire and Do You Really Need Back Surgery by noted Santa Monica neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron Filler to Before You Say I Do Again by California family law and divorce expert attorney Ben Berkley.Motion Pictures…In motion pictures, The Barrett Company’s numerous client accomplishments include media outreach for the Showcase for Oscar ® Nominated Shorts that played to full theatres in Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., as well as publicity for movie openings and key industry awards for top feature films from Warner Brothers, MGM (Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan)), Paramount, Sony, Universal and Columbia Pictures. TBC as also served national theatre chains, feature film distributors and alternative cinema theatres with special regional movie openings and promotions including The Kids Are Alright, September Dawn, It’s Complicated, The Scoundrel’s Wife, Million Dollar Baby, Insomnia, The Aryan Couple, Master of the Game, Never Again, Blair Witch Project, multi film festival winner Smoke Signals and many film festival winners in various award categories.TBC has served filmmakers at a wide variety of film festivals, including The Cannes Film Festival, The New York Film Festival, The Hollywood Film Festival, The Sundance Film Festival, The Toronto Film Festival, The Sarasota Film Festival, and the San Diego World Film Festival. TBC introduced the world media to the inaugural Beverly Hills Film Festival in 2001 with director/author Henry Bromell (Panic with Donald Sutherland).Television…Our notable TBC television projects include campaigns for reality-based TV productions such as Oprah Winfrey’s Oprah’s Big Give on ABC and CBS’ The Amazing Race to shows on American Movie Classics (Mad Men) to Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker to NBC’s Unsolved Mysteries to Paramount TV’s Wild Things to Fox TV’s Cops and numerous other productions. We also launched the success of Ed McMahon’s Star Search at Walt Disney World in 1995. Our PR campaigns for various television productions resulted in across-the-board media attention and awareness in a wide range of outlets from USA Today to the New York Times as well as The Wall Street Journal, Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Multi Channel News, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, E! TV, Today, Good Morning America and The Tonight Show just to mention a few.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

1. Stop whining
Lost and rotten relationships are last year's mistakes now. You have or haven't erred. Or the only thing you may have learned is who to avoid. It's time to curb the learning curve and stop analyzing your love past. There is no need for review, regret, or remorse. You have amassed enough object lessons in 2011. It's time to get going.
Place a moratorium on blame. Make a new year's vow to set break time from the friends and family who help keep you mired in guilt and sorrow.
How terrible they were or pitiful you were is yesterday's news. Re-injury by reliving your nightmares only gets in the way of your dreams.
And even more importantly cease fire on all negative self-talk. Your biggest enemy is you. Mental reviews may be your biggest problem. You are the ultimate captive audience the one from whom you can neither run nor hide.2. De-clutter
You may not be in a relationship or dating a possible dream mate but at least you can be at the start -- facing forward not backward or anchored in a go nowhere relationship. No baggage is a good beginning. So eliminate deadwood as a new year's gift.
If the man of the moment is not someone you would marry or who would marry you (and, yes, you do know the difference), dump him now. You'll be less depressed. Ask yourself "do I feel better about myself when I'm with him, is he _______ (your top 3 and only 3 requirements for a husband), and does he seem interested in marriage or at least on the path to eating out of your hand"?
If so, good - proceed.
If not please say goodbye.3. Re-order your schedule and your life
Take a long look at your time commitments and plans for the year ahead. Are they to please others or yourself? Do they further finding the love of your life and/or dating someone who might be? Whose life are you leading?
Remove time gobblers and anything you dread that truly is not necessary.
And keep your regrets brief. A simple "I am sorry I won't be able to keep that appointment but thank you" can keep you out of trouble with anyone r anything that that doesn't align with your priorities.
At least three times a week schedule meeting opportunities that will make the man of your dreams that much closer by no more than three degrees of separation. You need to be where a number of single eligible men might show up, someone who knows single, eligible men will be or someone who might know single, eligible men will be. No other venues will do. Your fairy tale is possible but he won't drop from the living room ceiling. You don't know where he's coming from but you must network and have some visibility to let him find you.
If your new year's schedule looks bleak, take heart -- a blank slate can be a good thing. Use the time to schedule preparation time for the future you want to have -- take a class that is feel good, achieves a personal goal, or provides opportunity to meet eligible men or hunting buddies. Write into your schedule what will make you better, fitter, prettier, more informed, social adept, or happy-4. Visualize your dream
This is your movie. Write your script. Replace thoughts and feelings of what you don't have with thoughts and feelings about your life and love relationships, as you want them to be. Feel how good it will feel to have life as you envision it and the man you want to love. Experience the joy -- why wait when your images of the future can make you smile now.
Remove yourself from any who have a pathetic view of you or your future and draw closer your fans and supporters who can see you as you want to be imagined: happily and successfully in love and married. Their energy can help when yours falters and they can be your scouts on the look for your future mate.5. Take action
There are steps to making a dream a reality. If you want to be with your dream mate in a year, you need to set your goal and your schedule to match it now.
Plan now for having the time to be married which means time for courting and time for dating and probably means sacrificing something in your current agenda. Even if you only eliminate the sitting around and sulking time, some Facebook, work, TV, obsessive texting, or spurious reading has to go. You need to schedule and protect time to date, to meet that date, and be date ready. Your mood and appearance scream either "I would like to meet you" or "don't even think of approaching me" and if you fall in the grey area, you are losing. Don't leave home without your friendliest version of yourself.

You need to dress your attitude and yourself not only for a date but to get a date. You have the double pleasure of looking and feeling good and having more draw, so go for it. Looks aren't everything. I've seen many the woman with a sparkling personality who could make a greater beauty seem like wallpaper. But some attention to looks signifies the desire to attract -- a primal basic of mating. You don't have to knock yourself out, just don't be scaring away potential suitors.

Forget waiting for Mr. Right You can go out and find "The One" yourself when you follow this plan. Celebrated relationship expert Dr. Janet Blair Page has distilled the very best of her acclaimed dating class at Emory University--the one covered by CNN, FOX, "Good Morning America," and "The Early Show"--into this one-of-a-kind book. She's helped bring thousands of singles true love--and now it's your turn

Your To-Do List This Year:
Today: Get to know "yourself."
Next Month: Figure out what you really want from your man.
Month 3: Learn how to get out of your own way.
Month 6: Take the field and find the right guy.
Month 10: Make the big decision.
Month 12: "Get married "The power is yours--and with Dr. Page's guidance, you'll use that power to meet and marry your Perfect Guy. From designing the ultimate Spouse Shopping List to getting the right guy to commit, this tried-and-true method gives you the blueprint you need to take charge of your love life and find love that can last a lifetime--in only 12 months or less.

This is a self help book, but in the sense that the author is teaching you as the single woman to make sure you are ready for that next step by following the steps in her book. These steps are broken into interactive Parts and Chapters; such as Know Yourself (Part 1:What Am I Doing Wrong?, Chapter 1), The Simple Rules of Dating (Part 2:Let The Search Begin, Chapter 7), Connection and Communication (Part 3: The Road to Happily Ever After, Chapter 11).I do feel all the chapters are important. I like appreciate the fact that she not only talks about all aspects of a relationship (what you will not budge not and what you are willing to negotiate/talk about) but also makes it clear that you need to make sure you are happy as you are and with who you are and bring in as little baggage into your next relationship as possible. She makes clear that baggage as in divorce and kids and things of that nature cannot be helped but on the same note that especially kids should not be considered baggage. She also has quizzes, questions and very good pointers in this book. I think my favorite part of this book was the tips/pointers for the first date and the dating time table. I know a lot of women who strongly feel that they don't want to wait to put all their cards on the table; that the man needs to know upfront what he is getting into or feel that they don't have the time or patience to give information a little at a time. But the author actually gives do's and don'ts to dating. Such as don't go somewhere where one person knows everyone or most everyone or even some people ( you get the picture ) and the other person doesn't know anybody. After each tip/point, she explains why: This might make the person feel awkward, nervous, they might feel judged, etc. The Author also includes other peoples love stories which are fun to read and good lessons. I recommend this book as a whole because the author, Janet Page gives so many good lessons, tips, red flags to watch for (that you may or may not have been aware of). So you go into the dating world/on a date prepared, comfortable, relaxed and knowing who you are and what you want/need. If I were single, this would be a book I would have picked up. I have already paid this book forward to my mother; a divorcee. And she is going to pass it along to my two single sisters.

I received this book from the author

Janet Blair Page, PhD, author of Get Married This Year: 365 Days to "I Do", is a psychotherapist with more than thirty years of experience in private practice in New York and Atlanta. She taught at Emory University and has been in the New York Times, Glamour and on CNN, FOX,Good Morning America, and The Early Show. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

He wrote a great book, he is a talented writer, please welcome the man behind The Night Watchman....J. L. Manning!

1.

1. What made you choose to write in the Genre that you write in?
I write Young Adult Fiction, because reality is too boring and the best times in life are as young adults. My books started out in space Sci-Fi and what the future may bring. Now I’m focused on relations with Sci-Fi encounters.

2. What is your favorite thing about the writing experience and why?
I enjoy that writing takes the author away to a world of his creation. My world is not what I wish it to be. I write to get away and dream of a world I would like to live.

3.What was the first moment you know you wanted to write?
I daydream a lot, but that just waists time. I had a job that I was dreaming a lot at as I would do the busy work that was numbing my mind. I started writing these dreams to keep my mind active and creative.

4.How do you handle bad reviews?

I learn from them. I welcome bad reviews, because a review that just states that the book is good does nothing for me, but improve sales…

5.When you write, do you write for a long period of time or do you write in short burst?

It feels good when I’m having trouble to stop writing. I write a page or two at a time. I have had an idea that I just had to write about, but I sometimes have trouble getting started.

6Where did your inspiration for this book come from?

The Night Watchman came from my life and the main character has my background. I heard about the technology that I used in this book how I wished I could use it in my real life. The technology is real, but it does not do everything that I depicted in this book.

7.What words of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Write your dreams. Turn your dreams into something you can share. Most of all do research on how to write a book for the reader.

8.What is your favorite scene from the book or why?
I wrote scenes throughout this book where the main character is tentatively fighting diamonds within him that are questioning if he is doing the right thing.

9.If your book was turned into a movie that would you want to direct it?
Simon West, Director of movie “The Mechanic” TV “The Cape” or Matthew Vaughn, Director of “Kick-Ass”